The Passaic County Coaches had their chance to vote for the finest players in the district, and the Wayne Hills High football team fared well.

Coach Wayne Demikoff announced that five of his players were named to the first team, while two more gained second team and a pair were named honorable mention.

Demikoff was pleased that nine of his players were recognized by the county coaches. Hills finished 7-4 and advanced to the NJSIAA sectional semifinals before losing to the eventual champion, NV/Old Tappan.

"It was a good showing by our kids," said Demikoff. "When I look back at the season, I saw a lot of promising things from a very young core of players. I'm also very grateful to our seniors, who were a part of two state championship games and won a state title (in 2016). They're deserving of a lot of accolades for really putting this program at a championship level, once again. This year's seniors were in the eighth grade when I took over as head coach, and it's been great watching them develop into quality players and even better, top young men."

Modak, a senior captain, was generally recognized by opposing coaches as the Patriots' best all-around player. He also excelled on the offensive line and special teams. Modak finished as the program's all-time leading tackler and is an excellent all-around athlete. He currently plays for the Hills basketball team and has played baseball.

Zaccone, also a senior captain, was a dominant linebacker and excelled on the offensive line. Himself a versatile athlete, Zaccone played in the 2016 state sectional championship game at MetLife Stadium with a fractured leg, and still dominated on both sides of the ball.

Sirni, another senior captain, continued the marvelous kicking prowess that has defined the Wayne Hills program. He was as reliable a point-after kicker as Hills has seen since the great Erik Martinez kicked for the Patriots from 2011-13. Martinez holds the state record for consecutive point-after kicks.

Among the clutch kicks by Sirni came in the 2016 state sectional title game, when he nailed a field goal in the third quarter. At the time Hills trailed Wayne Valley, 17-7, and the points at the outset of the second half were credited with giving the Patriots a much-needed boost en route to a scintillating 31-24 overtime victory.

Polgar, a junior, had a breakout season on the offensive line and will be a key to next year's team. Polgar has received an offer to play football at Temple University, beginning in 2019. Hayek, a junior who has committed to play at Rutgers in the fall of 2019, put up some dominant numbers at quarterback, both rushing and passing.

Second-team honors were given to juniors Charles Njoku and JP Lemchak. Njoku had a good year at wide receiver, including a fantastic catch and touchdown run at Irvington, and Lemchak was outstanding as the team's punter.

Honorable mention accolades were afforded to senior captains Scott Fischgrund and Pete Dellechiaie. Both were key to a stalwart offensive line and Dellechiaie did a good job on the defensive line.

Looking ahead

The 2018 schedule is just about completed for Hills, and the slate will look different than what Hills saw the past two years.

Hills will be in the North Jersey Super Football Conference's Freedom Red Division. The Patriots' home games will be against Wayne Valley, on the weekend of Sept. 7-8, NV/Old Tappan on Sept. 14 or 15, Passaic Valley on Oct. 5 or 6 and Ramapo on Oct. 12 or 13. All of those teams were on the 2015 and 2016 schedules.

The road games will feature some new opponents, beginning with a game at Fair Lawn on Sept. 21 or 22, West Milford, on Sept. 28 or 29, Passaic Tech on Oct. 19 or 20 and Indian Hills on Oct. 26 or 27.

A ninth game could occur in Week "Zero," Aug. 31 or Sept. 1, with an out-of-state opponent. The past three years, Hills has opened at Graham, N.C., Pahokee, Fla. and last year, in Canton, Ohio.